Skyrim: The Sonmia Silverkin Experience
by robonarples2929
Summary: Sonmia Silverkin just committed murder. Her life is coming to a fast close. That all changes when a dragon attacks Helgen. (DISCLAIMER: This story will, for the most part, be based off the main story, and may possibly be based on other main quests in the future. I will have my own story line added eventually, though. You've been warned.) Rated T for blood and crude language.
1. Consider Yourself (Almost) Dead

She did it. She finally did it. After years and years of torture and abuse from her father, Sonmia was finally free. She stared intently as blood poured from her father's neck, blood dripping down the blade of her dagger, trickling down her fingers and onto the floor. Her hands started to shake from the pleasure of actually being free, and soon her whole body started trembling with glory. Avenging her mother's death was the highlight of her life, and she couldn't be happier with herself for doing so.

"By order of the Jarl, open the door! You're under arrest for the murder of Jaques Silverkin!" Sonmia turned around, startled that they already found her. Damien must've ratted her out. They must've heard the cries and screams of terror. Now her body was trembling with panic as she searched for a way out. She looked all around and saw a bump under the rug. The secret door! She would escape through the basement and make a run for it to the next town.

Sonmia sheathed her dagger and flung the rug behind her. She opened the secret door and jumped down, not even bothering to grab any other means of protection. She forgot how dark the basement was, but she was still able to make her way through to the door leading outside. Pushing the door open, she darted for the wilderness.

"In the name of the Jarl, stop where you are!" Caught like a kid with a stolen sweet roll. Sonmia threw her hands up and turned around, facing the line of Imperial guards just anticipating her arrest. "You're under arrest for the murder of Jaques Silverkin. What do you have to say for yourself?" Sonmia kept silent as she was grabbed by two guards. Another guard took her dagger, her precious Ebony dagger, and kept it for himself. "I'm sending you to the keep, where you'll be locked away for the rest of your days. You'll never see the light of day again, you hear?" Sonmia still kept silent, but happily let a smirk form on her face, realizing that killing her father was completely worth it.

Sonmia woke up what seemed like years later in her dark cell. Cries and wimpers of other prisoners came from all around her. Guards yelled at the prisoners, telling them to keep quiet and teasing them with delicious food delicacies from the outside. Sonmia sat up on her cot, feeling like she hadn't moved in over a century. She stood up and went over to her cell door, looking out at the large, dark room full of cells before her. She grasped the bars of the cell door, closed her eyes, and prayed to the gods for a miracle.

"Hey, you," one of the Imperial guards that caught her yesterday came up to her and unlocked her door, "looks like you'll be seeing the light of day after all. Just got an order from the Jarl. You're to be sent to Helgen to be executed, along with a few others." _Great, this was exactly what I wanted,_ she thought to herself as she was led outside. The sun blinded her eyes; it was as if she had been isolated from real sunlight for decades; she lifted her tied arms up to shield her from it. "Come on, get your sorry ass up there!" One of the guards kicked Sonmia onto the cart, and Sonmia fell face first to the floor. One of the inmates quickly helped her up and onto the seat as best as he could.

"Thanks, but I could've-" Sonmia stopped and looked over at her helper; he was a Nord, just like her, with shoulder-length dark brown hair, almost as dark as hers, and deep-set light brown eyes, just like she had. His face showed a look of seriousness, but deep down, she could see he was terrified of the situation upon him. Instantly, her words were confused, jumbled messes. Her brain turned to a puddle of troll fat and her cheeks started to burn. "I-I uh...I could've, uhm, helped myself up, you know."

"Just thought I'd serve one last act of kindness before I'm sent to Sovengarde. So what're you in for? Thievery upon the Jarl?"

"Uh, no. I killed my father," Sonmia replied with as much pride as she could muster. "It was a proud moment I'll never regret committing."

"Well damn, I never would've expected such a crime out of a innocent-looking thing like you."

"Look, I may be a young woman, seventeen years young at that, but that doesn't mean I can't commit murder. Everyone has the potential to murder."

"That's true, I suppose," the man chuckled with his deep and plain eastern Skyrim accent. "What's your name, kid?"

"It's Sonmia. Yours?"

"Farkas. You from around here?"

"What, this cruddy place? Gods, no. My family comes from Riverwood. But we moved to Falkreath after my the death of my mother...My father, he killed her, about ten years ago. He was abusive to her, which made her become unfaithful to him. She started secretly seeing Alvor, who owned the smithy. When my father found out, he took her down into our basement and beat her to a pulp. My brother Damien and I, we were just kids...we could hear the whole thing. I went down to the cellar to try and stop my father, and...well, I saw him kill her. Slashed her throat right open. I couldn't do anything to stop it. I was just a kid. Helpless. But once the incident happened, my father knew he couldn't stay, the people would realize she wasn't working at the mine. Then they'd all realize she wasn't around at all anymore. And then they would start talking. And then they would realize what had happened. So me, my father, and my brother moved to Falkreath to get a fresh start. My brother ran away after a couple years of abuse. And soon, he started taking out all of his anger on me, and finally I couldn't take it anymore. So I slashed his throat open, same way my mother was killed."

"Damn, that's quite a story. I'm sorry that happened to your mother. Your father deserved what he got."

"Yeah, I guess...So where're you from?"

"I'm from Whiterun. But that's not where I was held. I was being held in Solitude. I was on a Companion mission to get my brother Vilkas out of prison. I had to sneak into the Blue Palace, steal some money, and go into Solitude's keep and pay off his bail. Obviously, that didn't turn out so well. I ended up getting caught by General Tullius, and he took me in. Now I'm here. That's not as exciting as your story, but..."

"Exciting enough. So the Companions are real, eh?"

"As real as you and I, sister."

"My mother used to tell me stories about the Companions. The way she told them inspired me, and I've always wanted to join them."

"You truly know what a family is when you're with them."

And that was the end of the conversation. The rest of the ride there was filled with whispers of praying from the other inmates on the cart. After what seemed like hours, they finally reached Helgen, and suddenly Sonmia was calm. She was no longer scared, afraid. She came to accept the terms of her crime, and whether she was going to be sent to Oblivion or who knows where, she knew she couldn't have lived her life any better, and she couldn't be any happier, any prouder of herself than she was in that moment.

Third in line, she waited for her name to be called. Once her name was called, she stood in line next to Farkas, who stood tall and proud, with his back straight, his shoulders pulled back, and his head held high. Sonmia looked over at him, and he over at her. Their eyes met, and locked, and for a moment, they were in a complete trance with each other. Sonmia's name was called, and a rush of adrenaline rushed through her veins. Farkas gave her a reassuring nod of approval, and Sonmia slowly and proudly walked to the chopping block. A guard pushed her head down onto the block. Sonmia took a deep breath, and silently prayed to her mother to forgive her.

Suddenly the ground shook underneath her, and everyone stopped. The executioner put his blade down, and everyone looked around to see what it was. When nothing else happened, the captain ordered for the executioner to continue. Right before the blade hit Sonmia's neck, a massive object flew down from the sky and onto the tower. Sonmia stood and looked up to see a giant black dragon in front of her, one that was angry and ready to bite her head off.


	2. Consider Yourself Saved, Prisoner

"What in Oblivion is that?!" the executioner exclaimed, dropping his blade near Sonmia's face.

"Is that...is that a dragon?!" Legate Rikke's eyes were full of fear and wonder.

The dragon sat upon the tower. Sonmia turned herself around and looked at him. He was massive, greater than any Nord tale could ever explain. His scales were blacker than the night, and his eyes screamed "I am your worst nightmare." He looked right at Sonmia and shouted. Sonmia blacked out for who knows how long. When she awoke, everyone was running. The dragon was terrorizing Helgen. Everything was on fire. Sonmia looked around to see where she could run to.

"Hey, woman! Get up, the gods won't give us another chance!" Sonmia looked around and realized a Stormcloak soldier was talking to her. She followed him into the nearest tower, where two other Stormcloaks were hiding, along with...Jarl Ulfric?

"Is this really happening, Jarl Ulfric? Could the legends be true?" a Stormcloak soldier asked. He was huddled in the corner, clutching his tiny steel war axe.

"Legends don't burn down villages," Ulfric replied. "But never mind that, we need to get out of here! Up through the tower, let's go!"

Sonmia followed Ulfric and the other Stormcloak soldiers up the stairs. Halfway up, the dragon's head burst through the wall. It looked around, then exhaled fire. Sonmia could feel the heat from 10 feet away. A nearby Stormcloak was burned alive. The dragon flew off, leaving a giant hole in the wall. The rest of the stairs were barracaded by rubble.

"Crap, there's no way up! What do we do?!" a small, meek female soldier asked, completely terrified.

"Look, see that inn down there? The roof is busted, we could probably jump through," Sonmia suggested.

"I don't like the sound of that, but there's not much else we can do." Ulfric made the first jump. Sonmia looked down to see if he was okay. There was smoke blocking her view. She gave it a moment to clear, and when it did, she saw that Ulfric had run off.

"That bastard, how could he just leave us?!" one soldier exclaimed.

"There's no time to worry about him, we have to jump!" Sonmia held her breath, closed her eyes and jumped. When she landed, an immense pain exploded in her ankle. "Shit, shit, shit," she said to herself as she tried to stand up. Another giant roar from above made her forget the pain. She needed a way out of here. She gave a good look around, and the only way out was through a giant hole in the floor. Sonmia jumped down, which only reminded her of the pain in her ankle. Whether it was broken or not, she was determined to get out of there. Sonmia made it through a hole in the wall to her right and back outside where some Imperial soldiers were hiding behind some rocks.

"Hammel, you need to get over here, now!" An Imperial soldier was yelling at a young boy who would be burned alive if he didn't move. Thankfully, the boy followed the soldier's orders. Something told Sonmia that the soldier was the boy's father. "That a boy, you're doing great. You there," the soldier turned to Sonmia, "stay close to me if you want to stay alive. Gunnar," the man turned to the other Imperial soldier, "take care of Hammel. I need to find Tullius and join the defense. Follow me, prisoner."

"Gods guide you, Hadvar," the other Imperial soldier said.

Sonmia and the Imperial soldier named Hadvar made their way through the burning town. People passed by, some on fire, some with lost limbs; some in uniform, some in prisoner's clothing. Everything was going to ruins because of this dragon that appeared out of no where. _Why is this dragon here? Where in Oblivion did it come from? Shouldn't they be dead?_ Sonmia asked herself these questions as they kept moving forward.

"Rolaf, you traitor!" Hadvar yelled at a Stormcloak soldier.

"I'm getting out of here, Hadvar. Out of my way!"

"I hope that damn dragon kills you and all your other rebel friends! Come on, prisoner, into the keep!" Sonmia followed Hadvar into the Helgen keep. "Looks like we're the only ones that made it. Come here, let me get those binds off of you." Hadvar cut Sonmia's binds off, which she completely forgot about.

"Thanks, that feels a lot better," Sonmia said. "Where did that dragon come from?"

"Who knows. But we need to keep moving. Have a quick look around, see if there's any gear or weapons to take for yourself. I need to find something for these burns." Sonmia looked in a chest nearby, which had light Imperial armor, boots, an iron sword, and a key. Sonmia took all of it.

"Hey, don't look this way, I'm changing," Sonmia said to Hadvar. She put the armor and boots on and equipped the iron sword. She then looked back in the chest and picked up the key. "Hey, what's this key for?"

"Let me see." Hadvar took the key and scanned it over. "I think it's for that door. Here, I'll give it a try." Hadvar walked over to the door leading to the next hallway and tried to unlock it. The lock clicked, and Hadvar opened the door. "It worked. Let's keep moving. Keep your weapon drawn, we don't know who else is out there." Sonmia did as she was told and drew her weapon, and kept her guard up for whatever could be out there.

They turned right through the doorway into a hallway. There was a large, circular room just down the corridor. Sonmia could hear voices coming from the other end.

"Hey, you hear that?"

"Yeah," Hadvar crept up to the gate closing off the room, "looks like Stormcloaks. Let me do the talking. Maybe we can reason with them."

"Reason with Stormcloaks, are you serious?" Sonmia gave a tighter grip on her sword.

"Just keep your mouth shut." Sonmia did as she was told and followed Hadvar into the room, limping as fast as she could. The Stormcloak soldiers noticed them right away. They drew their weapons, completely intended on killing Hadvar and Sonmia. "Now hold on, we just want to talk-"

"Talk? Why should we talk to you? We should just cut your head off," the female Stormcloak replied.

"Look, we don't want to fight, we just-"

"Well we do." The male Stormcloak drew his battleaxe and lunged towards Hadvar.


	3. Let's Get Outta Here

"Oh shit." Sonmia immediately threw her sword up to block the hit from the female Stormcloak. The soldier raised her warhammer, and Sonmia took this chance to plunge her sword into the woman's chest. The Stormcloak went limp. Sonmia laid her on the ground and pulled her sword out. It was covered in blood. Her mind flashed back to when she killed her father. All the blood that dripped down her hands, the adrenaline and glory she felt from it. She was feeling the same thing again. _Am I mad? Is there something wrong with me? _she asked herself. She looked over at Hadvar, who had sucessfully killed the other Stormcloak.

"Well, that should do it. Gods, all this blood on me, it's disgusting. Wish I had something to wipe it off with. Oh well. Let me see if I can get this door open." Hadvar went over to the door leading into the next hallway. While he tried to unlock it, Sonmia decided to see if the dead soldier's had anything worthwhile.

"You didn't even give it a second thought," Sonmia said quietly.

"What?"

"The fact that you just killed someone. You immediately thought about getting the blood off of you. You don't even care that you murdered someone." Sonmia took an iron dagger from one of the soldiers, and three gold pieces and a steel dagger from the other. She contemplated taking the warhammer, but decided it was too heavy to carry, so she stuck with her sword.

"It isn't murder if you're fighting in a war. But it looks like you didn't think about it, either. You looted them right away. There, I got it open. Come on, let's go." Sonmia quietly followed Hadvar into the next hallway. Halfway down, the ground rumbled and part of the ceiling fell, blocking their path. "Damn it, that dragon doesn't give up easily. Where are we supposed to go now?"

Sonmia looked around. There was a door on her left. When she opened it, she saw it lead to a storeroom, which looked like it could lead somewhere else. "Come on, let's go through here. This might lead somewhere."

Both Sonmia and Hadvar walked in, with Sonmia in the lead. Sonmia stopped when she heard voices coming from the other end of the room.

"These damn Imperials have to have healing potions somewhere," one of the voices said.

"Damn, more Stormcloaks," Hadvar whispered. "Looks like we're going to have to fight again."

"That's the last thing I want to do." Sonmia crouched, and snuck to the wall closest to the soldiers. She sheathed her sword, and took out the iron dagger she looted. Peering over, she could see the two soldiers searching through some barrels and crates. "I'll take one, you take the other," Sonmia whispered. "We'll sneak up, and stab them in the side of the neck. Deal?"

"I don't have a dagger."

"Good thing I grabbed two. Here." Sonmia handed Hadvar the steel dagger. He took it without hesitation. "You go first, I'll follow you."

"Alright. Here goes." Still crouched, Sonmia quietly snuck up behind the taller Stormcloak. She quickly stood up, and stabbed him right in the neck. He dropped like a sack of potatoes. Sonmia looked over to see if Hadvar succeeded. The other Stormcloak was dead. "Done and done. Good job."

"Yeah. We make a pretty good team, I'd say," Hadvar said with a smile.

"Uh, yeah, I suppose."

"Let's have a look around, see if there's anything useful in here." Sonmia looted six gold pieces all together out of the Soldiers. She looked through some nearby barrels and found four minor healing potions. "Hey, I found some potions." Hadvar came over, and Sonmia handed him two of the potions. "This should make you feel better." Hadvar immediately drank both of them.

"Gods, these things are so bitter. I wish there was a sweeter recipe for them."

"Yeah, that would be nice," Sonmia said, before she downed one of them. The bitter taste from the blisterwort made her face scrunch up. "It's really the aftertaste that's the worst."

"That's true. I wish there was some pots of honey just laying about. Poor man's luck, right?"

"Mmmm, some honey would be great." Sonmia looked up as another dragon roar came from above. "We should get moving." They left the storeroom and went onto the next hallway. At the bottom of some stairs, they came across the torture room.

"Oh, gods. This place. I wish we didn't need it."

"STORMCLOAKS! GET THEM!" someone yelled from the room. Hadvar and Sonmia sprinted in to find some Imperials fighting two more Stormcloaks. Sonmia ran over to the closest one, and slashed her throat open. The other Stormcloak was dead in seconds by three Imperials ganging up on him.

"You two happened along just in time. Those Stormcloaks seemed a little angry at how I was treating their comrades." The torturer was a Dark Elf, his voice sly and cunning.

"Do you even know what's happening out there? There's a dragon attacking Helgen!" Hadvar exclaimed.

"A dragon? Please, don't be stupid...now that I think about it, I did hear some strange noises coming from above."

"We can get you out of here. Come with us," Sonmia suggested.

"And what makes you think I'll actually listen to you?"

"Did you not hear me?" Hadvar was starting to get irritated. "There's a dragon out there, killing everyone!"

"Forget that old man. I'll come with you," chimed in another man. He was tall, built. He appeared to be the torturer's assistant. His voice was deep, and ordinary.

"Well then come on, let's get going!" Hadvar said. Sonmia and the assistant followed Hadvar down the hallway...


	4. Tunnels, Broken Ankles, and Freedom

The tunnel was dark, so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of you. The only light the trio came across were the giant fire-lit lanters that were widely spread out along the tunnel. The tunnel went straight for the most part, it curved here and there but there were no major turns they had to take. It was also cold. The only heat they felt was brought by the few lanters they passed. They stopped for a few moments at each lantern to warm up. As they moved through the tunnel, Sonmia focused on all the creepy sounds within the tunnel. She could hear little bits of rubble falling off the rock walls; the sounds of creepy little bugs crawing on the floor; and in the distance, she could also hear flowing water.

"I think I can hear an undergrown stream up ahead," Sonmia whispered. Neither Hadvar nor the assistant acknowledged her, they just kept moving.

In a short amount of time, they reached a big undergrown room, with a small bridge crossing over a small underground stream, like Sonmia had heard. Sonmia looked around and saw three dead Imperial and one dead Stormcloak soldier.

"Someone must have come through here already," Hadvar said.

"It was probably those Stormcloaks we were dealing with earlier," the assistant replied. The ground shook fiercely, and another loud roar came from above, reminding them there was no time to dottle.

"Come on, we have to keep moving," Sonmia urged.

"Wait, we should check to see if these fools have anything of use; gold or a weapon or something," the assistant said.

"You wanna die in here? Fine. Go ahead, have a look around, we're not going to wait for you. Come on, girl, let's go." Hadvar lead the way across the bridge and continued onto the next tunnel. "Come on, there's no time to waste!"

Sonmia looked back at the assistant, who was checking the bodies. As much as she wanted to take some loot, Hadvar was right. There was no time to waste. She sprinted to catch up to him.

"Wait for me!" the assistant cried from behind. After a second, he was caught up to the other two.

A little ways down the next tunnel, an undrawn bridge blocked their path.

"Well how in the blazes are we supposed to get this down?" Hadvar asked. Sonmia looked around and saw a lever on the wall to her left. She pulled it, and the bridge came crashing down. "Oh, great. Let's keep going." Hadvar lead the way across the bridge and into the next tunnel. As they came through the previous tunnel, the ground shook again, and giant rocks came down from above, blocking their path behind them. "Looks like there's no going back. We have to keep moving forward." Another underground stream faced them, flowing down westward through the cavern.

"If we follow along this stream, we might be able to find a way out," Sonmia suggested.

"It looks like we don't have a choice," said the assistant.

Sonmia decided to lead the way down the stream. It wasn't long before they reached a dead end. "Ah, shit. Where do we go now?"

"I think we can go this way," said Hadvar, pointing to a tunnel to the right. This tunnel seemed colder, darker, and quieter. There was some light at the end of the tunnel, which wasn't too far away. It seemed like it lead to a cave. At the end of the tunnel, they could all see this cave was full of small spiders.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," said the assistant.

"Gods, these things have always scared me," Hadvar added.

"...You guys are wimps. Let me handle them, there's only three." One by one, Sonmia went up to each one and stabbed them between their heads and their abdomens. "There, see? Simple as that."

"You're too brave, girl," said Hadvar.

"Thanks, I'll take that as a compliment. Let's get moving, we must be close to the end of this forsaken place." Hadvar took the lead again, Sonmia following behind him and the assistant following behind her.

"Hey, girl, are you alright? I just noticed you're limping." The assistant placed a hand on Sonmia's shoulder to stop her.

"Oh, yeah, I think I sprained my ankle or something jumping into the roof of an inn. It doesn't hurt right now, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? We can stop to rest if you need it," Hadvar offered.

"No, seriously, I'm fine. We need to get out of here. I don't want to stay in here longer than I have to."

"Alright, let's get going then." Hadvar took the lead again, and they moved through the next tunnel to the following giant cave. On the far end of this cave, a decent-sized bear slept peacefully under the sun that broke through the roof of the cave.

"Oh, it's just one damned thing after another, isn't it?!" the assistant said, almost yelling it.

"Would you be quiet? I don't want to wake that thing up, it'll kill us on sight. Let's just be as quiet as possible, and sneak out of here. Alright? Deal?" Sonmia whispered firmly. Hadvar and the assistant both looked at each other, then back at Sonmia and gave her a nod in agreement. They all crouched to sneak, with Sonmia leading the way. She observed her surroundings and noticed there was an exit to the far left of the cave, which Sonmia aslo noticed was pretty far away from the bear, making for an easy sneak escape. Sonmia motioned with her hand for the other two to follow her. Staying as far away from the bear as possible, they slowly and quietly made their way to the next tunnel. Once she was sure they were far enough away from the bear, Sonmia stood up.

"That was close," Hadvar whispered.

"Yeah, but we made it out of there alive thanks to this girl here. Uh, what is your name, by the way? I never bothered to ask," the assistant said.

"Oh, it's..uh, Sonmia," she said while looking down at her ankle, not really paying attention to the assistant. "Shit, this is really hurting."

"Let me have a look." Hadvar kneeled down and carefully slipped Sonmia's right boot off. "Oh, gods, that's pretty bad." Sonmia looked down and saw that her ankle was swollen to the size of two and a half red apples.

"Don't let me keep you from getting out of here. Just leave me here, I'll leave when I'm ready." Sonmia sat down against the tunnel wall, stretching her right leg out.

"And what are you going to do if that bear wakes up and decides it wants to come through this way, hm? You're in too bad of shape to fend for yourself against that thing. You have saved our asses too many times for us to just leave you here. We're going to get you out of here," Hadvar insisted. " You got anything we can rip, to wrap her ankle?"

"Uh, yeah, here, you can use my undershirt. Let me just..take it off...hold on just one second." The assistant removed his light armor, removed his tunic and handed it to Hadvar, who immediately ripped into a long cloth bandage. Hadvar took the bandage and wrapped it snug around Sonmia's foot and ankle, securing it with a pin from his armor. "There, that should hold it for now. You, assisstant, help me carry her." Sonmia put each arm around the shoulders of the two men. Sonmia had never felt so grateful in her life. She had never been treated or helped this way by anyone before. The thought of these two men helping her brought tears to her eyes, but she made them subside, because for Sonmia, crying was a sign of weakness.

After finally making their way around the first turn of the tunnel, a immensely bright light shone in their faces from the outside.

"By the gods, look! We finally made it! I thought we'd never get out of here!" the assistant exclaimed.

"Now now, don't get too excited. We don't know if the dragon's still out there or not. Let's just take it slow for now...boy, it's good to know we finally made it." The three slowly walked the rest of the way out of the cave, both of the men still helping Sonmia to walk out.


	5. Off to Whiterun

"Gods, I forgot how hot it was out here," Hadvar said as the trio exited the cave. "Maybe we should go back in, it's much cooler in there..."

"Are you kidding me?" the assistant said as he helped Hadvar sit Sonmia down against a nearby rock. "We barely made it out of there alive. I'm not going to risk running into that bear or even more Stormcloaks. Let's just rest here for a minute, and try to figure out where we're going from here."

"All right, fine. The girl's hurt anyways. Let's let her rest for a while." They all sat down, trying to get their bearings and process everything that's happened. In the distance, a faint cry could be heard from Helgen. About a minute later, a black figure could be seen flying through the sky.

"Shit, that thing is still around? Shouldn't someone have killed it by now?" Sonmia asked.

"No one truly knows the kind of strength a dragon has. But it looks like it's gone," Hadvar said as the dragon disappeared behind a mountain. "I think we're safe. But we need to get going. What are we all doing?"

"I need to go back...my family is in there," the assistant said. "I don't expect either of you to come with me. But now that the dragon is gone, I'm sure things have died down. I need to see if my family survived."

"We understand," Sonmia said. "I'm sure both of us would do the same thing."

"Go, man. You don't have time to waste," Hadvar said.

"Thank you, both of you, for letting me come with you. May you arrive to your destination safely, wherever it may be." The assistant shook hands with both Hadvar and Sonmia before running East back to Helgen.

"So, where are you headed, girl?" Hadvar asked has he situated himself more comfortably next to Sonmia.

"I...I don't know. I have no idea where I'm going from here."

"Do you have any family you can go look for?"

Damien's face flashed in Sonmia's mind. His sweet, innocent face at first made her want to go look for him. But she remembered how he betrayed her, left her alone to deal with her father's abuse, and then remembered how he most likely ratted her out for killing their father. "No," Sonmia finally answered. "I have no one."

"Well come with me to Whiterun then. We have to tell the jarl what happened."

"How long will it take us to get there?"

"About a day, if we don't stop. But we'll have to make a stop in Riverwood to rest-"

"No!" Sonmia blurted. Hadvar gave her a look of complete confusion. "I can't...I can't go back to Riverwood..." Memories of her mother's death started flooding her mind. Hadvar put a hand on Sonmia's shoulder in a gesture of comfort, for he could see the pain in Sonmia's eyes.

"...I won't ask you why you can't go back. But I will try to persuade you to come with me. You're hurt, you need proper care. You can't survive out here by yourself. I have relatives in Riverwood who will take care of you. And then in the morning, we can head out for Whiterun."

"Why do you care so much if I survive or not? Don't you remember I was a prisoner?"

"Yeah, of course I remember that. But I'd like to think I have some sort of responsibility for you now. I brought you out of that mess and now I feel it's my job to make sure you're okay. And, well...I care. Genuinely. You saved my life in there. It's only fair that I keep you safe in return. At least until we get to Whiterun." Hadvar looked at Sonmia with the most sincere, caring smile upon his face. Sonmia could feel tears welling up in her eyes. She had never known anyone who had cared about her basic well-being, let alone just her at all. "So, what do you say, prisoner? You coming with me or not?" Hadvar stood up, brushed himself off, and held a hand out to Sonmia. She looked at his hand, which looked calloused and rough, and stained with dirt. Then for some reason, she looked at her own hand. Small, pale, also stained in dirt, with a few small cuts here and there. Sonmia then placed her hand in his, and allowed him to help her up.

"Let's get going, then. The sun's going to set soon."

"Let me carry you. You can't walk with your ankle in the shape it is. Here, climb onto my back." Hadvar bent down so Sonmia could climb up, and the two continued onto Riverwood.


	6. Let's Travel Back in Time

About an hour goes by before the sun finally decided to set. Sonmia started to get anxious, seeing as she hated being out doors in the dark.

"Wow, would you look at that," Hadvar said, breaking the long silence between them. He pointed in the direction of a giant ruin sitting on the side of a nearby mountain. Sonmia distracted herself from her anxiety and focused on whatever it was Hadvar was pointing out. From where Sonmia and Hadvar were, it just looked like a row of triangular arches.

"Oh, that's Bleak Falls Barrow," Sonmia informed. "That place used to give me nightmares as a kid. To be honest, I still don't like the look of it."

"It's incredible," Hadvar whispered.

"If you think so. Oh look, up ahead. There's the three Guardian Stones." Hadvar carried Sonmia to the three stones and let her climb down so she could get a closer look. "There's thirteen of these ancient stones plopped around different parts of Skyrim. Now let's see...this one," Sonmia started tracing the drawing etched in on the right stone with her finger, "this is the Warrior Stone. Supposed to make you stronger, if you're able to activate it. And this one," she turned to the middle stone, "this is the Mage Stone. It makes you able to learn magic spells faster, or something like that. And then there's the Theif Stone. It somehow makes you more stealthier, harder to detect."

"How do you know all of this?"

"...my dad taught me everything I know," Sonmia said quietly. A pang of sadness pierced her heart as she started to remember the good days of her childhood. The days where Sonmia's father would take her and her brother Damien out on some of his hunting adventures; the days where he would take them out to practice their archery; the days where they would just go out and wander the area, to have a picnic by the riverside, and then come home late in the evening to a nice homecooked meal; the good days when their mother was alive. Quickly the sadness turned into anger. Sonmia stood up and requested they continue the journey. Hadvar scooped her up back onto his back and they continued onward towards Riverwood.

A few hours later, when the moon was fully visible in the sky, they finally arrived. The small village was quiet. Not a person or chicken to be seen or heard. The only people that were out were the few guards that walked about the village. As Hadvar set her down, Sonmia felt a familiar, warm feeling inside. Everything about this town was familiar. The smithy, the trader, the inn. Sonmia could walk this small town with her eyes closed.

"My uncle should still be awake. Come, his house is just over here." Hadvar lead the way, with Somia quickly limping behind him, doing her best to keep up. Panic quickly swooped in when Sonmia realized Hadvar was walking towards the smithy.

"Wait, who did you say your uncle was?"

"I didn't. His name is Alvor, he's been the smithy here-"

"I know who Alvor is," Sonmia snapped. "I'm sorry. I just..." Sonmia sighed, "some bad shit happened in my family, in which your uncle was involved. I'm kind of nervous to see him. It's been years since I have, but...I'm sure he'll recognize me."

"My uncle is a forgetful man. I'm sure he won't remember you. Come on, it's getting late. The sooner we see him, the sooner it will be over with." Hadvar held his hand out. Sonmia grabbed it and let Hadvar lead the way. Sonmia was glad Hadvar didn't ask what happened with her family, what his uncle was involved in. She wasn't ready to explain everything to him.

Hadvar climbed up the steps to the smithy, which was also Alvor's house. He knocked on the door three times, and waited. When no one answered, Hadvar knocked again, this time harder. Shuffling could be heard inside, then footsteps towards the door. Finally, the door opened, and there stood Alvor. Alvor was a somewhat tall, very built man. His light-brown hair was grown out past his ears. He had a beard, which was the same colour as the hair on his head. To Sonmia, he hadn't changed. He still looked the same to her as he did when she was a child. A harsh wave of nervousness flooded Sonmia's body. To herself, she prayed to the gods that Alvor wouldn't recognize her.

"By Shor's bones, Hadvar!" Alvor finally said. He gave Hadvar a good look up and down and could see that Hadvar was in bad shape. "Gods, what happened to you boy? Are you in trouble?"

"Shh, Uncle, please keep quiet. I'm all right, but we need to go inside."

"What's going on? And who is this young lady with you?"

Sonmia shot Hadvar a pleading look. Hadvar looked at her with sincerety.

"Her name is Adisla Smallblade," Hadvar lied. "She's a friend. She saved my life, actually. But please, Uncle, let us in. I'll explain everything once we're inside."

"Of course, come in. But be quiet, Sigrid and Dorthe are sleeping." Alvor stepped out of the way to let Hadvar and Sonmia in. Inside, there was one double bed and a single bed, both with end tables next to them and chests in front of them. Next to the double bed, a fire place, which had a fire that had been dying down for a while, and empty cooking pot hanging above it. Next to the door, a table with six chairs sitting around it, adorned with empty wine and ale bottles and plates of bread. To the very far left of the house was a set of stairs that led to the basement. Alvor locked the door behind him, and sat down at the table with the two. Sonmia looked at him and saw that he was focused on her. She could see that he knew who she was. He could see that she was, in fact, the daughter of the love of his life. "You know, girl, you look exactly like a little girl that used to live in this town a long time ago."

"I can promise you, sir, I've only been in this part of the White Hold for a short while. No longer than a month." Her voice shook as she said that. Sonmia was never good at telling lies.

After a moment, Alvor finally focused his attention to Hadvar. "So, what happened to you two? You two look like you lost a fight with a pack of skeevers."

"Man, where do I start? Well, you know I was assigned to General Tullius' s guard. We stopped in Helgen when...a dragon, black as the night, attacked the town."

"A dragon? Nonsense, boy." Alvor poured himself and Hadvar a mug of Nord ale. Alvor offered some to Sonmia, but she turned the offer down, politely.

"No, really, uncle! This...dragon, he flew over the town and wrecked the whole place! The only person we know got out alive was a torturer's assisstant, he actually escaped with us. We never asked him what his name was. I probably wouldn't have made it either if it weren't for my friend here."

"So what are you two doing in Riverwood?"

"We need to go to Whiterun and let the jarl know what's happened. But Adisla's ankle...it's in pretty bad shape. She can't walk properly. Is there any way you could fix it?"

"Well of course. Any friend of yours is a friend of mine. Let me take a look at that ankle, girl." Alvor dragged his chair next to Sonmia. She lifted her foot up onto his lap so Alvor could get a better look. He slowly and carefully slipped off Sonmia's hide boot; she winced as it came off. "Hadvar, boy, bring that lantern over here. I can barely see." Hadvar did as he was told; Alvor's eyes widened a bit as he saw how bad her ankle was. "Oh, girl...this is bad. Really bad. You probably shouldn't walk on this for a few days. Here, let me go get you a healing potion, that should help speed the healing process." Alvor went down into the basement, and a moment later, came back up with a healing potion. Sonmia took it with gratitude, but hesitated to drink the bitter concoction. After a moment, she chugged the potion, gagging once the liquid was in her stomach.

"Thank you, sir," Sonmia said, after a minute of trying to hold the liquid down.

"Of course. What else can I do to help you two?"

"Could we possibly stay here for a couple of days, while her ankle heals?"

"Yes, my boy. My home is your home. You two can sleep in the extra bed in the basement. There's a cupboard down there with extra hide blankets. It's late, we should all try to get some rest."

"Thank you, Uncle. This is much appreciated. Come on, girl. Let me carry you downstairs." Hadvar picked Sonmia up out of her chair and proceeded to go down into the basement. He then layed her down onto the extra double bed, and got and extra blanket from the cupboard for both of them. He then layed down on the other side of the bed with her, trying to give her as much personal space as possible.

"So where in Oblivion did you come up with the name 'Adisla Smallblade'?" Sonmia whispered, hoping Alvor wasn't listening from upstairs.

"When I was a young boy, there was a girl my age that lived on a farm near the one I grew up on. She was the most beautiful girl anyone had ever laid eyes on. The prettiest silky dark brown hair that went down past her shoulders; the most beautiful complexion; eyes so blue that if you were looking into them, you couldn't tell if you were swimming in the river or if you were actually just looking into her eyes. She was the sweetest, most caring girl you'd ever meet. And that was her name: Adisla Smallblade."

"Were you in love with her?" Sonmia turned over on her side so she could look at Hadvar while he spoke.

"I wouldn't say 'in love,' but I was sweet on her. All of the boys in the village were."

"So what made you say her name?"

"You remind me of her. Get some sleep, girl. You've had a long day."

Sonmia rolled back over onto her back and stared at the wooden ceiling above her, letting the silence of the house consume her ears until she finally fell asleep.


	7. Relaxation

Sonmia awoke late the next morning. The smell of apple cabbage stew filled her nostrils, making her stomach growl louder than a sabre cat.

She sat up and looked around the room. It was fairly dark, except for the light that cracked through the wooden ceiling from upstairs. After a moment of letting her eyes adjust to the dark, Sonmia finally managed to get out of bed, making sure to put all of her weight on her left leg. Giving herself a second to retain her balance, she limped to the other side of the room, hesitating before forcing herself to climb up the stairs.

Once she was upstairs, Sonmia saw Sigrid sitting at the table, sewing some patches onto some clothes. Alvor and Sigrid's daughter, Dorthe, was sitting on her bed, playing with some straw dolls.

"Oh, good morning, Adisla," Sigrid greeted, cheerfully. "Would you like some stew?"

"Yes, please. I think I can get it myself, though, thank you." Sonmia proceeded to grab a bowl for herself, but Sigrid stopped her.

"Please, dear, sit down. You need to keep off your feet as much as possible before your big trip." Sigrid grabbed the bowl out of Sonmia's hands, then went over to the cooking pot hanging over the stove and scooped some stew up for Sonmia. She then placed the bowl in front of Sonmia, and handed her a spoon. "Here, enjoy."

Sonmia felt a pang of uselessness as she observed Sigrid serving her. She wanted to get her own food, to prove that she could still help herself. "Thank you, so much," Sonmia said, quietly. She then grabbed the spoon from Sigrid's hand and started shoveling the stew into her mouth, as if it was the first meal she had had in months.

"My goodness, dear, slow down. You'll give yourself a stomach ache," Sigrid warned. Sonmia continued eating, but slowed down as Sigrid said to. "Oh, also, Alvor needs some help at his forge. I'll help you over there once you're done eating."

"Of course. Thank you." Sonmia then proceeded to take her time finishing her late breakfast. "By the way, where's Hadvar?"

"At the forge, helping his uncle."

"So I'm guessing Alvor told you everything that happened?"

"Both Alvor and Hadvar did, mostly Hadvar."

"So was there really a dragon?!" Dorthe blurted from the other side of the room. She looked straight at Sonmia with wide, playful eyes and a small smile.

"Yeah, there really was!" Sonmia answered with the same amount of excitement.

"Dorthe, honey, don't pester the poor girl."

"Oh, she's fine," Sonmia insisted.

"What did it look like?! Did it have big wings?" Dorthe asked as she ran over to sit next to Sonmia.

"Oh yes, his wings were huge. And his scales...they were blacker than any black I've ever seen. And his teeth were sharper than a bear's claws."

"Whoa...sounds scary."

"Terrifying, actually."

"Okay, Dorthe, I think it's time you started your chores."

"But Mama, I wanna hear more about-"

"Dorthe, now." Sigrid gave Dorthe the stern look that all mothers gave when their children didn't listen.

"Okay, Mama..." Dorthe went off to start sweeping the basement.

"I suppose I should go out to the forge now," Sonmia said. "The stew was delicious."

"Oh, thank you. Here, let me help you walk over there." Sigrid helped Sonmia stand up; Sonmia wrapped her arm around Sigrid's shoulders, and the two slowly made their way over to the forge. "Alvor, Adisla's here!"

"Ah, you're finally awake! Here, girl, sit down over here for a minute." Alvor directed Sonmia to sit over by the tanning rack. He then grabbed two small wooden boards, about seven inches wide and over a foot long; both of them had cloth padding on one side. He then grabbed a chair and sat down in front of Sonmia. "Bring your leg up onto my lap."

"What are you doing?" Sonmia did as she was told, and slowly lifted her leg.

"Watch." Hadvar sandwiched her ankle between the padded sides of the boards, and instructed Sonmia to hold them in place. As she did that, Alvor wrapped a very, very long strip of cloth tightly around the boards, making her an ankle splint. "This is to keep your ankle in place."

"Wow, thank you."

"Of course. Now, your job for today is to help me make some leather strips. Do you know how?"

"Yes, I used to do it all the time as a kid." _He knows I know how to do it, _Sonmia thought, _I used to help him back then. Damn bastard._

"Ah, good. Here are the tools you'll need and the leather to strip. I need the strips to be about ten to fifteen inches long, all right?" Alvor handed her twenty squares of leather and some stripping tools, and left her to work.

Within a few hours, Sonmia had eighty strips made. Being engrossed in her work for so long, she had not noticed that both Hadvar and Alvor were gone. Sonmia decided that since her work was done, there was no reason to stay put. She stood up and left the strips neatly on the workbench for Alvor to find later. Knowing she couldn't go very far, Sonmia decided she was going to see where Hadvar and Alvor could have gone.

Around the corner, Sigrid was sitting on the porch, delved into a book.

"Could I ask what you're reading?" Sonmia asked as she slowly limped toward Sigrid.

"Oh, nothing special. It's called 'Chances Folly.'"

"What's it about?" Sonmia leaned against the railing of the porch. Reading was one of Sonmia's passtimes, nothing peaking her interest like hearing about a new book.

"About a theif in Morrowind who can steal anything and some warrior who can only hear the voice of Sheogorath. It's not peaking my interest at all."

"Could I borrow it? It sounds interesting to me."

"Sure, keep it. I'm never going to finish it." Sigrid handed the book to Sonmia, who took it gratefully.

"Thank you! I haven't read a good book in so long. I think I'm going to go sit by the river and start it."

"All right, you have fun. I have to start supper anyways. And be careful with your ankle there." Sigrid got up and went back inside the house. Sonmia stepped off the porch and slowly limped her way over to the mill. As she made her way there, she could see both Alvor and Hadvor chopping wood by the river.

"Don't overwork yourselves, boys!" Sonmia called. Finding the perfect spot along the riverside, Sonmia sat down and cracked open her new book. A moment later, Hadvar came over and sat down with Sonmia.

"Aye, girl, what do you have in those hands?"

Sonmia looked over at him, seeing that he was covered in sweat and dirt. "Sigrid gave me this book, said she wasn't going to ever finish it. I can't turn down a possibly good book."

" Ah, you read?"

"As much as I can." Sonmia turned her attention back to her book, engrossing herself into it almost immediately.

"I'll leave you to it, then. I'll come back for you when supper's ready." Hadvar got up and went back to cutting wood, leaving Sonmia to her sweet solitude. He came back a few hours later and sat down next to Sonmia. Next to her, he placed a single bottle of vigorous healing potion. "Here girl, drink up."

Sonmia looked up and saw the potion. She gave Hadvar a look of disbelief. "How were you able to pay for this?! This stuff is expensive!"

"I helped out at the mill, got about a hundred and fifty gold for it. I also got you this, for afterwords." Hadvar pulled out a small jar of honey from behind him and placed it next to the healing potion.

"No way!" Sonmia took the honey and opened it, looking at it as if it were an entire chest of gold. "This is actual, real honey. Thank you, Hadvar."

"For what?"

"For...this! Spending your hard-earned gold on me, taking care of me, saving me back in Helgen. Just all of it. I really appreciate it."

"Hey, you saved me just as much as I saved you. Now come on, drink that potion. Supper's going to be ready soon, and it's starting to get dark."

Sonmia grabbed the bottle and opened it, grimacing as she brought the bottle to her lips. The smell alone wanted to make her throw up, but she looked at the bottle of honey she could have afterwards, and chugged the entire bottle of the potion. She then threw the bottle aside and grabbed the jar of honey, stuck two fingers in and scooped up as much of the sweet concoction as she could, stuffing it into her mouth. "Oh gods, that's so good," she whispered.

"Whoa, okay, slow down. We still have supper to eat. Come on, let me carry you over there." Hadvar helped Sonmia stand up.

"I think I can actually walk back. I don't feel any pain. Just some pressure."

"Well all right, let's get heading back then." Hadvar and Sonmia both headed back to the house for supper, both exhausted and excited for relaxation.


End file.
